Hot Sauce Committee Part Two: What the critics are saying

Photo: Philip Andelman

Well, the Beastie Boys new album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, is finally out, and the reviews are streaming in. Although the majority of reviews are positive, the consensus seems to be it is good, not great. The album is receiving an average rating of four stars out of five.

Below are a few select comments from reviews:

"[Hot Sauce Committee Part Two] is exactly the Beasties album that the public has been salivating for, and more — not just a return to form, but a masterpiece on the level of '80s classics like their raucous debut Licensed to Ill and the staggering sample odyssey Paul's Boutique."
-Matt Diehl, Los Angeles Times
Rating: 4 stars (out of 4)

"...Beasties sound exactly like themselves, cutting loose without straining to fit anyone else's idea of relevance...they make no effort to accommodate or even acknowledge any of the latest hip-hop trends. Instead, we get the sound of master musicians in their comfort zone, doing everything their own way."
-Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

"The Beasties' weird, wise-cracking spirit shines brighter than it has in years…the top five or six tracks here are on par with the band's best work…the Beastie formula sounds vibrant, cohesive and, yeah, still saucy."
-Patrick Foster, The Washington Post

"The earnest social commentary that was slipped into Beasties albums like To the 5 Boroughs in 2004 and Hello Nasty in 1998 has virtually disappeared on Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. Now Beastie Boys are back to their longtime staples of boasting and name dropping, particularly New York City locations and all sorts of food..."
-Jon Pareles, The New York Times

"Many of Part Two's tracks are reminiscent of early Beastie Boys...The album is a return to form that still manages to be innovative and ridiculously fun."
-Megan Gibson, Time

"[The album contains] grimy keyboards, grimier vocals and sparse beats that sound like they belong on a demo rather than a major-label release. In contrast to the polish of much mainstream hip-hop, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two sounds like a crusty mix tape...That's not a bad thing. On the contrary, it's a refreshingly understated return to long-ago form by one of hip-hop's most venerated groups."
-Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune
Rating: 3 stars (out of 4)

"...much of the album, while usually loud, is surprisingly minimalist — in good ways (the spliced samples and spacious beats of "Long Burn the Fire") and bad (the dub instrumental "Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament," even the driving "Make Some Noise" is studded with holes and lacks a real chorus). It's still a good party, just maybe not worth fighting too hard for."
-Thomas Conner, Chicago Sun-Times
Rating: 3 stars (out of 4)

"...this is the Beasties Boys at their most vital, engaged and surprising...While drum loops remain a staple, Hot Sauce Committee is also the most organic mix yet of their hip-hop and musician sides. The result? From staggering grooves to jams that could soundtrack the future robot wars, don't expect the expected here."
-Neala Johnson, Herald Sun (Australia)
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

"...a party album that's as good as 1998's Hello Nasty.… Hot Sauce Committee Part Two finds the Beasties on marvellously carefree form, scattering references to food, microphones, Bob Dylan, Lee Majors and other pop-cultural detritus..."
-Kitty Empire, The Guardian
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

"Time has not dulled Mike D, MCA and Ad-Rock's devotion to the old-school hip hop aesthetic of big beats and braggadocio."
-Basem Boshra, Montreal Gazette
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

"The Beasties are back with a 16-track album full of squelchy beats, tossed-off jokes and on-point rhyming..."
-Jason Lipshutz, Billboard

"Hot Sauce is a lot like Daniel Craig's übercool James Bond — another stripped-down return to a franchise's best virtues after a decade or so of wandering the desert. It took a little time, but the Boys are back with a license to ill."
-Kyle Anderson, Entertainment Weekly
Rating: A-

"The sound of the Beasties here is catnip for those who still revere their late 80s/early 90s output: vocals are drenched in reverb...while the tracks fuse live instrumentation and samples...delivering tracks alive with ideas and chaos and funk and noise and groove..."
-Stevie Chick, BBC Music

"[Hot Sauce Committee Part Two] is a vibrant mix of live instruments and samples, blending the '70s-funk vibe of The Mix-Up with the Beasties' hyper-verbal wordplay as emcees MCA, Ad-Rock and Mike D ping-pong rhymes back and forth, with occasional help from guests."
-Eric R. Danton, Hartford Courant
Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)

"All the staples are present: wonky electronics, hardcore punk/rap crossovers, a daft routine about the name Larry, a funky instrumental, a rap battle with Nas, magnificent beat-making."
- Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, Financial Times
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

"...there's no radical new direction: HSCP2 might have been lifted out of any period in the trio's history from 1990 onwards — with jubilant old-skool synth squiggles and absurdist rhymes about the sort of topics nobody but the Beasties would think of covering."
-Simon Price, The Independent (UK)

"Hot Sauce is rooted in the good-time party-rocking rhymes and dusty grooves of old-school hip-hop, though the group finds ways to expand its sound without deviating from retro fundamentals."
-Nathan Rabin, AV Club

"[Hot Sauce Committee Part Two] sounds fuzzy, the songs are kinda rough, and there doesn't seem to be any ambition to make a hit — their focus seems to be simply aimed at having fun. It's as if the Beasties are revisiting their Check Your Head and Ill Communication days, minus the massive singles."
-Eddie Fleisher, Alt Press
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

"...with the production obscuring the scarce hooks, the impact of the trio's still-ample wit gets blunted. Lacking the detailed soul-searching that's always given the Beasties' pop-culture onslaught wisdom and depth, Hot Sauce merely simmers when it needs to boil."
-Barry Walters, Spin
Rating: 6 stars (out of 10)

"The record's appeal is largely nostalgic...Hot Sauce Committee Part Two begs the question: can you be nostalgic about nostalgia?...[It] sounds like a record out of step with the world."
-James McMahon, NME
Rating: 7 stars (out of 10)

In the end, it matters very little what critics think and say about the album. They are not the ones who buy the Beastie Boys music and see their shows. What matters is what fans think about the album. So what do you think? Do you love it, hate it, or feel ambivalent about it?